Over the past few weeks I've been having a computer problem. Several times my system has halted on an unrecoverable RAM error (I have ECC RAM). Specifically, in my ca. 2008 Dell Precision T5400 system I currently have 8 x 2 GB FBDIMMs, one of which is apparently failing. In fact, the BIOS has pinpointed the fault to a pair - DIMMs 5 or 6.

The Dell steps its performance up to quad channel RAM access when it senses matched sets of 4 DIMMs, and I always regard failures as significant opportunities for improvement, so I'm considering buying either four or eight 4 GB DIMMs to replace the (smaller) faulting modules and some nearby. If I buy four (swapping out four 2 GB modules) I'll end up with 24 GB of RAM. If I buy eight I'll end up with 32 GB of RAM. Of course, I could just replace the pair of 2 GB DIMMs that has been identified as faulty.

At this point I really don't see problems working on documents of any size with "just" 16 GB of RAM (keep in mind my scratch files are on a fast SSD array), so I could just get a pair of 2 GB DIMMs (super cheap). However, the extra RAM will only improve Photoshop's performance...

So...

Should I do a minimum cost replacement with no increase in resultant RAM size, get a set of four 4 GB DIMMs and increase to 24 GB, or get a set of 8 DIMMs and move up to 32 GB total? Basically the cost is 16 GB - $35, 24 GB - $330, or 32 GB -$660.

On the one hand, I like the "more RAM is better" school of thinking.

On the other, putting more money into my current system just means I haven't saved as much as quickly toward a powerful new one.